The time has come for Americans to shed allegations and political spin and rely on facts and common sense to make their choice for president. The facts reveal that Donald Trump is the reliable choice.

Is he qualified? History provides many examples of candidates who would not be considered qualified to be president based on today's contrived standards. Harry Truman's vocation as a haberdasher hardly appeared to qualify him for the presidency, yet he squarely faced and defended the world against Soviet expansionism.

Who would have thought that Ronald Reagan, an actor by profession, would demonstrate the qualities that led to the demise of the Soviet Union?

John F. Kennedy defied the Democratic norm when he lowered taxes, propelling the economy upward for the next 10 years.

Nobody really knows who is qualified until the president assumes the office and uses his or her upbringing and experience to make decisions.

Trump has raised the important issues and when he focuses on them and his plans to uplift the nation's economy, secure our borders and strengthen security, he has shown the clear distinctions from Clinton and raised voter confidence across the nation in his ability.

Hillary Clinton's carefully constructed resume suggests qualifications, but the record shows she lacks the necessary clarity and sound judgment, beginning with her involvement in the Whitewater scandal of the 1980s that followed her to the White House; her failure as secretary of state to help the U.S. ambassador and diplomatic staff in Benghazi, Libya, that resulted in his and three other deaths in a terrorist attack; and her mishandling of her classified email account through a private server in her home.

In contrast, Donald Trump has shown clear judgment, common sense and the ability to succeed through hard work and perseverance.

Trump has an impressive record of success in business, demonstrating a keen ability to negotiate deals, form successful business partnerships and negotiate with foreign and domestic banks, politicians and various government agencies. Trump's business acumen can certainly be applied to all areas to create trade policy, economic development, health care finance, partnerships with world leaders for common defense and build solutions to shared humanitarian challenges.

He has experienced some setbacks, but many highly successful business owners have setbacks, and they have persevered as Trump has.

It's time to ignore the current overemphasis placed on political correctness and allegations of poor personal conduct — there is enough to go around for both candidates — and focus more on decision-making ability and leadership. Neither candidate is perfect. Clinton's insincerity and mishandling of her emails exhibit her shortcomings.

Trump's no-nonsense approach to the issues is characteristic of the strong leadership that has been sorely lacking in today's challenging times.

UNC-Chapel Hill Chancellor Carol Folt has displayed patience and grace in navigating the various pressures from the UNC System Board of Governors and the leadership of the General Assembly. It has been particularly evident in addressing the controversy over the fate of the “Silent Sam”…

Incompetence by UNC board on full display/Editorials/2019/01/17/UNC-board.html11

Two weeks into this new session of Congress and we’re no closer to knowing who will represent North Carolina’s 9th District in the House of Representatives. Nor do we know who will make the final call on how the seat will be filled or who will fill it. Will it be the state’s board…

Congress should take reins in 9th District/Editorials/2019/01/16/Congress-should-take-reigns-in-9th-District.html11

When North Carolina’s Republican legislative leaders have seen their work struck down in court as unconstitutional — as they have many times — they have frequently responded by attacking the judge or judges as partisan hacks.

Very promising news about antibiotic use in farm animals has come from the Food and Drug Administration. The problem of resistance — the tendency of bacteria to fight back against antibiotic drugs — has been growing for decades, fueled by overuse and misuse of antibiotics in human…